Earnhardt Jr. says father was with him in crash
Updated: Tuesday September 28, 2004 1:37AM
Little E says the feeling of having his late father help him out of his crashed car 'freaks me out.'
NEW YORK (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he believes his late father, seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, had a lot to do with his surviving a burning wreck at a sports car event in July.

Earnardt, interviewed for Wednesday night's edition of 60 Minutes on CBS, was engulfed in flames after the Corvette he was driving at an American Le Mans Series event in Sonoma, Calif., spun and backed into a tire wall. The Nextel Cup star escaped with second-degree burns to his neck and legs, which hampered his racing for several weeks but did not sideline him.

Earnhardt's father was killed three years ago in a crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500, but Junior tells Wallace that it was his father who helped him escape from the burning car.

"I think he had a lot to do with me getting out of that car," says Earnhardt. "...I don't want to put some weird, you know, psycho twist on it like he was pulling me out or anything, but he had a lot to do with me getting out of that car. From the movement I made to unbuckle my belt to lying on the stretcher, I have no idea what happened."

Earnhardt told Wallace the feeling was so real that when he reached safety, he began inquiring about the "person" who helped him out of the burning car. "I had my ... PR man ... by the collar screaming at him to find the guy that pulled me out of the car," recalls Earnhardt. "He was like, 'Nobody helped you get out,' and I was like, 'That's strange because I swear somebody ... had me underneath ... my arms and was carrying me out of the car.' I mean, I swear to God."

Wallace asks, "And that was your dad?" Earnhardt responds, "Yeah, I don't know. You tell me. It ... freaks me out today just talking about it. It just gives me chills."

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Whoaaa hold up on the golf, that takes much more talent than driving a car in circles. It involves everything: stamina, concentration, athletic ability and nerves of steel. Oh i'll get the responses that NASCAR takes all 4 of those also but boil it down and its a drive on the beltway at high speeds, all of us with a little bit of practice can do that, not so with golf.

Whoaaa hold up on the golf, that takes much more talent than driving a car in circles. It involves everything: stamina, concentration, athletic ability and nerves of steel. Oh i'll get the responses that NASCAR takes all 4 of those also but boil it down and its a drive on the beltway at high speeds, all of us with a little bit of practice can do that, not so with golf.

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Joker..OCA said it...he's right.
Golf is a hell of a sport!
Now lamas ((sp) and my French sucks) racing...That's a sport, those guys need talent and skill.
But round an round? Hell, any 3 yr old can do that on a tricycle!

Whoaaa hold up on the golf, that takes much more talent than driving a car in circles. It involves everything: stamina, concentration, athletic ability and nerves of steel. Oh i'll get the responses that NASCAR takes all 4 of those also but boil it down and its a drive on the beltway at high speeds, all of us with a little bit of practice can do that, not so with golf.

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Don't forget the ugly ass green plaid pants...

I still say Bobby Labonte is hot but overall Nascar is boring ! And I am as southern as southern gets !

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